Regimented exercise routines have long been utilized by athletes as a part of their athletic training. In recent times, however, physical fitness has become important not only to athletes but to the general population. The health and emotional benefits from good physical conditioning have been well documented, and for this reason today more people than ever before are interested in innovative exercise routines and proper exercise equipment.
One basic exercise that has long been used by the professional athlete and that is now in common use by the general public for strengthening, conditioning and toning muscles is the basic squat exercise. The typical way in which this exercise has been performed is for the person to stand with both feet flat on a floor surface with the feet spaced shoulder width apart and directly underneath the person's torso. Upon initial execution of the squat exercise the knees are slightly bent while maintaining the body in a substantially erect position. During decent the elevation of the torso is reduced toward the floor level until the bottom position is reached. The legs are then straightened to raise the torso back to the original position.
Another basic exercise used by the professional athlete and now in common use by the general public is to strengthen and stretch the lower leg muscles and Achilles Tendon. This is done by performing "calve raises" and "calve stretches". Calve raises strengthen and stretch the lower leg muscles and are performed with the person standing erect with feet flat on a surface. The heels are raised contracting the calve muscles. The heels are then lowered to the original position.
Calve stretches are typically performed with feet flat and spaced shoulder width apart and on a flat surface. The bottom of the feet remain flat on a surface while the knees are bent and lowered in order to stretch the Achilles Tendon and lower leg muscles.
A problem associated with the squat exercise when performed by a person standing on a flat surface is that it tends to concentrate stress on the person's lower back, that is, in the Erector Spinae muscle group. The pressure concentrates in the lower back due to the excessive forward lean of the back needed to stabilize the body during the squat exercise. Since lower back injuries are a common problem of modern society, any exercise that overly concentrates on this area of the user's muscle group is usually considered deleterious to the overall exercise program.
An object of this invention is to provide a wedge shaped member for use by a person doing squat exercises to improve the development of the major leg, buttocks, and hip muscle groups, while minimizing the stress on the person's lower back muscle groups.
Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, portable and easy to use apparatus designed to position the user's body in a less strenuous state during execution of the squat exercise thereby reducing the pressure that concentrates in the lower back and minimizing the risk of lower back injury.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus that can be used to enhance the physical fitness of the user by improving overall leg muscle strength and conditioning through one exercise.
Still another object of this invention is to stretch and strengthen the lower leg muscle groups and the Achilles Tendon.